Hazenpeper – Hare Stew

Ingredients
4 hare legs
1, 5 bottles red wine
1 head of garlic, peeled
1 carrot, diced
1 red onion, finely chopped
200 g celeriac, diced
1 leek, finely chopped
4 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of rosemary
8 cloves
8 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
olive oil
butter
salt
black pepper
flour
4 slices onbijt cooked (ginger or spice cake), crumbled

Method
Mix together the red wine, peeled garlic cloves, carrot, onion, celeriac, leek, thyme, rosemary, cloves, juniper berries and bay leaves. Add the hare legs and marinate the hare legs for 24- 48 hours.

Remove the hare from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the marinade and keep the vegetables and herbs separately.

Heat a casserole or oven proof pan with some olive oil and a knob of butter. Brown the hare on all sides until nicely caramelised. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the strained vegetables and herbs to the pan and fry for about 5-10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon flour and fry for 1 minute. Pour in the reserved red wine from the marinade, the hare legs and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and place in a 140° C oven for about 3 hours until the meat is tender.

Remove the hare from the pan and pour the liquid through a sieve. Pick the meat from the bones.

Bring the sauce to a boil, whisk in the crumbled onbijtkoek (ginger or spice cake) and a knob of butter. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Return the meat to the sauce to reheat.

Serve the hare stew with creamy mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage.

The stew also freezes well and can be made ahead of time.

We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours